No proposal to merge BSNL, MTNL: Sinha

DoT has unveiled a strategic plan to bring together state-owned companies and organisations in the sector to promote greater operational synergy among them, including effective utilisation of human resources as well as land and buildings.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) Thursday unveiled a strategic plan for bringing together state-owned companies and organisations in the sector for promoting greater operational synergy among them, including effective utilisation of human resources as well as land and buildings.

Centre for Development of Telematics (CDOT), Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL), Testing and Certification of Telecom Equipments (TEC) and BharatNet (BBNL). He emphasised it is "critical" that substantial and tangible progress is make under the strategic plan in the next six months.

Work for the strategic plan began in January 2016 when a core committee of senior officers was formed to look into "the whole issue of synergy in totality and prepare a comprehensive plan covering various issues affecting the functioning of different organisations".

Others included s MoU among TCIL, ITI and C-DoT for export of products and services to foreign markets, and between MTNL, ITI and C-DoT for delivery of Internet of Things and smart city projects. Similarly, to save costs and time involved in litigation, the PSUs will first try to settle legal disputes between themselves through mediation by DoT.

The strategic roadmap will also cover areas like standards and certification, and preparing to tap opportunities in areas like 5G and Internet of Things (IoT).

The government won't be intervening in the ongoing spat between India's older operators and the telecom regulator over the latter's policies and regulations, with telecom minister Manoj Sinha saying the sectoral watchdog was an "independent" body. "Whatever the ministry has to do, it will do so with fairness and without bias", he said.

Mobile operators under the aegis of COAI have alleged that decisions by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) have put all but one operator at a huge disadvantage, and that its regulations had distorted the market.

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.